


To the Barricade!

by HazelBite



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: AU, Crappy Title, Established Relationship, M/M, Zombies, zombie fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-18 05:32:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelBite/pseuds/HazelBite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alchemist's experiment has gone awry, creating creatures never before seen in Amestris. Central is under siege and Ed and Russell are helping to destroy the monsters before they take over the country.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the Barricade!

**Author's Note:**

> Zombie!AU, established relationship. Special thanks to my sister who said "zombies!" when I asked her what I should write about :D Not beta'd.
> 
> Written for the fma_slashfest on LJ. Prompt: 11 Any/Any (Any): A tender moment amidst the destruction.

Thick, dark smoke turned the early morning into dusk as Russell ran toward the commotion, passing civilians as they fled. He was sure he knew who would be in the middle of it all; he had no worry for his own safety, jumping fallen stones and ducking debris until his lungs burned. He both hoped he would find him and hoped he wouldn't. Mostly, he hoped he was safe and away from all this but, really, who else would be trying to stop it? 

Russell spotted him up ahead as a shocking blast of light and a fierce shout led him in the right direction. He was completely surround by the hobbling, lifeless forms. They moved rapidly and with a purpose as Ed fired off bursts of light, enough to slow them but not enough to keep them all from advancing. Russell crouched, familiar piece of chalk in hand and sketched a quick circle on an unbroken section of cement. It activated, sending tough, unbreakable vines up through the surface to entwine around the legs of the horde. The beings hit the ground one by one, scrabbling at the ground with inhuman fingertips still trying to advance but efficiently held back.

“Oh,” Ed said, whirling around. “Again? I was handling this just fine!”

“Yeah?” Russell said, rising smoothly to his feet. “It wasn't like you were surrounded or anything.”

Ed gave a frustrated noise before punching his fist against the cement, a circle of fire swirling up to quickly engulf the bodies trapped by Russell's impervious vines. Russell figured he found the source of the thick smoke.

“You were supposed to be helping evacuate!” Ed shouted, heading over, hands clenched and face pinched in anger. His hair was in disarray, dark smudges and scratches covering his cheeks and normally pristine clothing ripped and stained. Russell was sure he looked no better.

“Our brothers are handling that just fine,” Russell shrugged. “Besides, Al would kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

“Stop being so...” Ed huffed, “so...helpful!” he burst out. He was in Russell's space now and Russell relaxed, realizing. Of course Ed had just wanted him away from the most danger. It would be insulting if Russell didn't know what it really meant.

“Is that all it was?” he asked, lowering his voice and reaching out to lay a hand on Ed's shoulder. “Where did your back-up go anyway?”

Ed shrugged and avoided eye contact, “they couldn't keep up.”

Which Russell took to mean, Ed left them and went off on his own. Russell sighed and gripped Ed's shoulders.

“Well, just try leaving me behind,” he said cheerfully.

Ed gave another low noise but didn't shake Russell off. Russell took it as a sign that Ed wasn't _really_ all that angry with him. 

They double checked to make sure all the bodies had burned completely. Ed had gotten really good with how hot he could make fire over the past few days, mostly out of necessity.

“This section is cleared, anyway,” Ed told him, somewhat smugly, as they hurried back toward the barricade, “back-up or not.”

Central had been ground zero and all alchemists had been dispatched to deal with the outbreak. Small pockets of the creatures had been stopped before reaching the outskirts, luckily, but the main infestation was still at the city center. The alchemist-created barricade was the only thing stopping them but it had to be maintained and monitored constantly.

As they approached a section of the wall, they heard shouting and the unmistakable sounds of the mindless creatures. Ed and Russell rushed ahead to find a crumbled section of wall and a wave of the creatures pushing their way through. There were only two men fighting them back but they seemed to be holding their own for the moment. Russell saw Ed drop to his knees and seconds later a wall of cement rose to fill in the gap. Russell followed immediately with stabilizing vines and the rush was stopped for the moment. The men finished off the last few creatures who had made it through, then there was silence only for a moment before another shout was heard.

They looked up to see another officer running toward them, “they've over taken the eastern wall!” 

“We'll go,” Ed said to the other officers who, Russell knew, had to stay at their posts. They set off once again, running alongside each other.

“How many?” Russell asked the officer, who was panting alongside them.

“Two dozen, most likely more,” he replied.

“Who the hell was supposed to be watching that wall?” Ed asked, obviously annoyed with the incompetence.

“I'm not quite sure what happened, sir, I got there too late.”

Russell could see the chaos as they approached: a large section of wall had fallen over and more monsters than they'd seen in a while were pouring through the gap. Russell sucked in a breath as a younger officer tripped over loose stones and fell backward as a group of the creatures descended on him.

Russell scratched a symbol just as Ed sent a large boulder flying toward the group. Russell's symbol activated and a vine pulled the man to safety just before the rock crushed him as well as the creatures.

“Ready?” Ed asked breathlessly, turning and grabbing the front of his shirt to pull him in. They were both still kneeling as the sounds of fighting continued on around them, but neither of them moved to stand. They locked eyes and Russell could see the familiar gleam in Ed's that had drawn him in from the beginning.

“Always,” Russell breathed, inches away. He wrapped a hand around the back of Ed's neck, his fingers tangling in the loose strands that hung down his back, and pulled him in for a kiss, forceful but brief.

“Let's destroy those bastards,” Ed growled.


End file.
